I met Mother Theresa in the beginning of the 90’s during my first trip to the city of Calcutta. When I saw her, I immediately felt the sensation of being in the presence of a fragile yet potent woman, physically petite, but a giant when it came to everything she had the strength to do.

After the two synods on the family convened in October 2014 and 2015, the publication of Pope Francis’s highly anticipated apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, or “The Joy of Love,” had raised hopes and concerns before he’d even written it.

At the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ I listen to director Stefano Albertini introduce one of the greatest contemporary writers, Dacia Maraini. Maraini is launching her latest book, “Chiara from Assisi: Praise of Disobedience.” During the presentation, she is accompanied by NYU Professor Jane Tylus, author of “Reclaiming Catherine of Siena.”